Now, Olley's house and its contents, which provided the scenes and subjects for so many of her famous works of art, have been recreated in a purpose-built centre at the Tweed Regional Gallery in Murwillumbah, far northern New South Wales.

Gallery director Susi Muddiman described Olley's home as a "continual treasure chest of delightful objects".

"I think it was the layering that fascinated me, clearly everything had a place," she said.

"I remember the first time I was there, there was nowhere to rest your eyes ... You can see still lives set up so purposefully."

The Margaret Olley Centre, partially funded to the tune of $1 million by the artist herself, will open to the public this Sunday.

"Still to this day, the concept of building a house inside a white box art gallery is bizarre to me," Ms Muddiman admits.

"It is a huge responsibility to a national icon, treasure, so we wanted to do her justice."